Bench opted to transfer the week after Penn State's Blue-White game after a talk with O'Brien. His departure left junior college transfer Tyler Ferguson and incoming freshman Christian Hackenberg as the only two scholarship players at the position.

Over the course of spring practice, Ferguson had gotten a little separation over Bench. The two players put up nearly identical numbers in the spring scrimmage, but O'Brien said he didn't consider that in his decision.

"They were basically equal," O'Brien said. "You have to look at it over 15 practices. I didn't just judge things over the Blue-White game. I felt like Tyler was a little bit ahead. I wanted Steven to stay and compete, but he felt he had a better opportunity to compete elsewhere."

Under NCAA sanctions, Bench is able to transfer to any FBS school without sitting out a year. The rising sophomore will still have three seasons of eligibility and a redshirt season available to him.

The competition will heat up this summer when Hackenberg arrives on campus. As a true freshman competing against a guy with 15 practices and six months on campus under his belt, O'Brien said the odds could be stacked against Hackenberg.

"I think if a guy comes in here, any freshman, it's tough to come in here and play right away, but I want to play the best players. If that means that Christian ends up being the best quarterback, that's who's going to play.

"Right now, I'd have to say that Tyler is ahead of Christian. We'll let the competition play out from there."